Zazen Posture

I have been doing some reading on postures in which to meditate and my readings for my Buddhism class have given extremely specific instructions.
You start off in lotus position, with your right foot on your left thigh and vice versa.
It is important to keep your spine straight with your ears and shoulders on one line.
Relax your shoulders and draw the back of your head up to the ceiling.
Keep your chin tucked under to your chest while keeping your diaphragm strong.
Your hands should be in the cosmic mudra, forming an oval with the left hand on the right hand and the thumbs touching.
When you are in this posture you are automatically in the correct state of mind so you do not have to take the time to settle your mind down.
All of this allows you to truly exist for yourself by taking away the distractions around you.
When meditating you focus on your breathe but distractions will come. The best way to deal with this is to let yourself pay attention to the distractions but don't let them bother you. Just let them naturally slip away. Not being bothered will allow you to truly become calm.
This is some good reading regarding a specific form of meditation.

I think tonight I might try this kind of meditation.

Meditation Day 1

Starting out I'm feeling stressful as usual, probably 7 on a scale from 1 to 10. I'm also extremely worried about several things, including school work, getting a job, most things college seniors worry about. Let's see how the meditation help.
----------15 minutes later------------
Just got done meditating. I decided to start with 15 minutes and work my way up. I did as my books said and decided to sit in an upright crosss legged position with my back up against the headboard of my bed. I started by focusing on my breathing. Everytime I heard a noise I noticed it and then came back to the breathing. Also, everytime I had a thought, when I realized it I went back to focusing on the breathing. Several times I almost drifted off to sleep, which makes me think it would be better to do this in the morning. I also had several times when I was distracted by pains in my legs but going focusing on the breathing helped ot bring my mind back.
Overall I can see that this could be a good way to practice and improve your concentration. So hopefully at the end of the month I'll see an improvement in that. I felt relaxed while doing it but not really anymore so now. My pulse also didn't lower at all. Maybe next time I'll have someone take it while I'm meditating.
I'll be back later with another meditation session and some fun facts and research about meditation.

Alternative "Medicine" and "Cures"

I always am humored/scared when people talk about going to alternative medicine to get cures instead of going to an actual doctor. I mean, the thought that prayer or homeopathy could actually do anything for you seems ridiculous. Not to mention that there are absolutely no conclusive studies proving their efficacy. Every story in their favor is purely anecdotal. So I thought, well, why don't I try these things for myself for one month and see how they work on me. I have nothing to lose in the process right? So starting today I'll be going through each of these alternative treatments to see how they work for me. Starting with meditation. Wish me luck!